a nation on the edge. the cyprus mess throws the market for a loop. in today's cover story, hungry for madness. can the ncaa help pull the restaurant industry out of a recent slump? plus, are video games no longer fun for investors? our traders get into that and more in a rather spirited edition of traders unplugged. and, what country has sipped its way into top wine connoisseur status? first business starts now. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning, i'm bill moller. angie's off this friday morning, march 22nd. in our first look: it's fear of the unknown. what's going to happen in cypress? that's what sent the value of the euro and global

stocks lower. the dow, nasdaq and the s&p 500 all pulled back in yesterday's session. and stocks were also rattled by oracle's numbers miss for profits and sales and a cisco downgrade which sent its share several points lower, taking with it ibm and intel. so how bad are things for google in europe? it's in anti- trust hot water. listen to this public letter from the eu's antitrust chief: "google's search manipulation practices lay waste to entire classes of competitors in every sector where google chooses to deploy them." negotiations are on-going. a new poll finds nearly 2/3 of americans favor giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. the senate is within a week of hammering out an immigration reform bill, one designed to win enough bi- partisan votes to pass. let's make some sense of the big sell-off yesterday with ben lichtenstein. he is the presidnet of tradersaudio.com. ben, we had the s&p 500, also the nasdaq, their worst one-day performance in about a month, and, obviously, cyprus was a key component here. > > that is a component here that is weighing on the market right now - really just the

uncertainty. but for the most part, the activity that we saw yesterday was really just a continuation of the downside activity we saw late in the afternoon wednesday that was in reaction to the fomc announcement and the question- and-answer session afterwards. but, really a lot of this i think you can attribute to the fact that we are seeing dollar strength right up around that 83-even level. but for the most part, really what i am taking notice of is the fact that we have actually started to see some selling coming into the pit here. we were for months just seeing that steady buy- side activity, basically on every dip there were buyers present, and not only buyers present, but lack of presence of sellers, so again, that would just fuel the market to the upside with energy and conviction. unfortunately there was very little volatility associated with it, because it was basically just all upside activity. but now we are starting to see some sellers, so the feel, if you will, is starting to change a bit. > now when you say it is changing, is this more of a traditional - some might even stay healthy - environment to be trading in?

> > sure. yes. i think that what we were seeing was somewhat inefficient, if you will; although, again, for anyone who was long, they were certainly enjoying it, and short-sided activity was paying the price, but it wasn't really efficient in terms of that two- sided activity. we are seeing much more two-sided anticipation right now. again, though, as i mentioned, it has been a little bit heavily weighted to the sell side, which is completely unusual for what we are used to seeing, even, for the most part, throughout this whole year. really the last few months have just been about upside activity and all about buy-side activity. so, we are actually seeing some rotational type trade occurring here, and we are seeing some activity, again as i mentioned, across the board, other major markets are starting to take notice. > all right, you have a good final day of the week trading today. > > thank you, you too. > thanks ben. more than pay, being a ceo is pay dirt. already a sore spot with the public, ceo compensation is getting even bigger. it's thanks to the bull market. usa today reports that many ceos who hold options are seeing huge gains in the neighborhood of $50 million or more. and that's on top of

their salaries and other compensation. it's the same justification you hear from corporate directors: the riches are needed to retain the talent. but corporate watchdogs say this level of compensation is excessive, if not "obscene." retailer jc penny continues to struggle. the chain told the sec that its planned turn- around "may take longer than expected" and "may be materially less than planned." the once- mighty retailer is attempting to survive intense competition and plunging revenue, down 25% in the last fiscal year. a new study is pretty revealing as to the revolving door between wall street and washington, d.c. - it's not flattering. the well-respected 'project on government oversight' says that when employees leave big banks for government service, those banks often provide those departing employees preferential financial treatment. the study says that "in exchange, the companies may end up with friends in high places." well, for now, a government shutdown has been averted in washington. the house has approved a temporary spending plan to fund the federal

government until october. president obama is expected to sign the legislation soon. meanwhile, $85 billion in federal cuts continue to take effect. 1 million federal employees still face unpaid time off. also in washington, the house has approved representative paul ryan's controversial budget. through $4.6 trillion in spending cuts, the bill aims to balance the federal budget in ten years. it would repeal the affordable care act and turn medicare into a voucher program. house speaker john boehner said ryan's budget helps balance the federal budget. "the american people overwhelmingly support balancing our budget, a budget senate democrats are considering never balancing. that means more debt, fewer jobs, and, frankly, much higher taxes." meanwhile, democrats criticized the bill's lack of funding to healthcare programs. "one of the core elements of the ryan budget plan that gives us real partisan concern is that it doesn't keep our promises to

our seniors, to our veterans, to our most vulernable population." the budget has no chance of passing the senate. lawmakers leave capitol hill for a two week recess after today. is this a countdown to bankruptcy? the little island of cyprus, already on financial life support, its banks all closed this week, desperately needs a bail-out. so how do depositors get their money out? line up at the atm and hope it doesn't run out out of cash. the european central bank says if the country cannot reach a bailout deal by monday, then cyprus' banks would be cut off from any more emergency funds. the parliament of cyprus is working on a bill to restructure the country's banking system and allow its 2nd largest bank to open next tuesday. it's a busy season to go public. on thursday aviv priced in at the high end of its range at $20, raising $264 million. its stock jumped more than 14%, to $23 per share on thursday. aviv is a nursing home real estate investment trust. late wednesday, enanta pharmaceuticals priced in at the low end of its range at $14

per share. the drug-maker raised $56 million. marin software and west corp. are expected to price today. supervalu, one of the country's largest grocery owners, has been sold. cerberus capital bought it for $3.3 billion. its stores include albertson's, acme, jewel-osco, shaw's and star market. supervalu will be broken into 3 business units: a food wholesaler, a discount grocery chain, and regional retail stores. traditional grocers have been out-sold by discount chains and big box competitors. the ncaa men's basketball championship tournament, known by fans of chicken wings everywhere as "march madness," is under way. while mid-day baseketball may distract a few of us while on the job, our cover story found the so-called "lost productivity" may be something of a myth. the madness is measured in many ways: $10.8 billion for the tv rights through 2025, an

estimated $12 billion in worldwide betting this year alone, and $40 million more on ticket sales. those are the big numbers. there's more. "probably 75% of my buddies are taking today off from work. productivity in offices around the country is going to decline for the next two days, that's a fact." "what i need is a box here and here. that's coming, right?" john challenger, caught watching a first-round game at his desk, says office workers watching the first two days of tournament college hoops during the workday will result in a $134-million loss in productivity. some employers may block the streaming video, but, challenger suggests, better to embrace it: "people today in the workplace are so scattered, part-time and short-tenured that smart companies could use this to bring people together." march madness will also give a bump to bars and restaurants. "i think a lot of people go to a bar and meet with some

friends." a lot of these businesses lost customers since january when the payroll tax holiday expired and suddenly dinner out became dinner in. this madness may bring some of that business back, but only to establishments that are gathering places. "i think a lot of it is communal, a social activity more than anything else." despite the distraction of a little hoops in the office, john challenger says it's not even a blip in the overall economy, and that sequestration will have a far bigger impact. if at first you don't succeed, you know what they say. mcdonald's is rolling out something new on its menu: the chicken mcwrap. the chain has been trying a menu makeover to keep up with changing customer tastes & the competition. wendy's and burger king are adding their own healthy options. more about fast food competition later in our traders unplugged segment.

home sales hit a hot streak early in the year. sales of pre-owned homes hit nearly 5 million in february, the highest in more than three years, and up 10% from last year, according to the national association of realtors. the median home price jumped nearly 12%, to more than $173,000. sales got boosts from a temporary $5,000 tax cut, fewer foreclosures, and low mortgage rates. the postal service gets a "return to sender" notice from the u.s. senate. remember when the postal service said there would no longer be saturday mail delivery as of august? that was one of the things it proposed to stamp out its losses. well, yesterday, the senate approved a spending bill that included saturday mail delivery. the bill will go to the house for final approval. the postal service is said to lose $25 million every day as people continue to rely more on email and the internet. still to come, pants, poultry, and ceo problems are up for

debate in today's traders unplugged. that's later on. but first, which country is now the number one wine consumer in the world? we raise a glass in your honor if you know. that's next.

have you heard this news? the united states actually has passed all other countries. we

are now the number one online nation in the world when you consider consumption, and as far as the growing of the great, catching up there as well. let's talk to scott harney. he is the brand director for eno - it is kind of an upscale wine, cheese, and chocolate bar in many cities of the united states. what is going on here? how did we hauled across a basically a european nations, because they are the ones who dominate. > > it has been a long time coming. we have actually hone up a little bit, and they have kind of cut back on their consumption a little bit. so it is kind of a mix of both things. there are several countries that are declining, and we have jumped ahead of them. > where are we growing grapes these days? i have read that in ohio, texas... hawaii? alaska?! are these decent grapes? > > hit or miss. every state now makes wind of some sort: some sweet wine, like hawaii is pineapple wine, things like that. virginia does great wine. we are opening a place in d.c., so we are using a lot of virginia wine there. texas does

some great ones. believe it or not, southern illinois has some pretty good wine. ohio... > when you compare it - i mean, you have a very sophisticated palette i am assuming. when you compare an american wine to a european wine, can you in all honesty say ours are at least as good as what the european vinyards are putting out? > > people make wine in different ways, but i think there is wine that compares with europe in all other countries, from australia to the u.s. to south america. there's wine that does compare very well with old world wines. > how about the trend in young people? they are drinking more wine. > > there is, i like to call them gateway wines. anything that gets you started with wine is a good start. malbec is huge right now, from south america. and when you walk up to people and say, "try this malbec from france, it's where it originated," it kind of shocks people, and they are like, "oh, i thought it was south american." but younger people are more inquisitive. they are

more open to something else. they are not stuck in, "i will drink cab or chardonnay." they will drink anything. > so the industry on the retail side, such as your place, you are adjusting to all this. > > yeah. we have, the entry- level for a glass is like $9. a lot of places it's $12, $13. so, we would rather give you something that you want to try and you'll try it again and come back to try something else; and the bottles, we start at $20. for a restaurant, that's pretty low. > scott harney, what is your favorite wine? > > tough. i tend to gravitate toward pinots. what can i afford or what do i drink? > there is my point, what a sophisticated palette you have. scott harney from eno, thank you so much. > > thank you for having me. even on st. patrick's day, wine was a hit with consumers. wine sales were up 6% on the holiday, while beer sales dropped 4%, leaving the industry feeling flat. who do you like among the big 3 in fast food? that's our 3rd- round question in a little thing we call traders unplugged, next on first business.

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okay, strap in, we're going down to the floor of the cme group. it's time to do a little thing we like to call traders unplugged with andrew keene and alan knuckman. ok boys, you ready? > > yes sir. > are right, let's see who can stand up to three rounds. first, round 1: it has been a lulu of a week for lululemon. has this been, with its see- through yoga pants, something of a mini-misstep or a stock- blasting blunder?

> > believe it or not, i am not bullish on this stock. > > what? what? > > this stock was at $1 in 2009. it made a triple top. i just don't like it. they have made too many mistakes, and we will have to see if this support holds at $62, but i just don't like the action. they are not acting like professionals, even though they are #2 in retail-sales-per-square-foot in the country. > > yeah, i mean, the one thing, i actually agree with alan, he's not bullish about something. that's quite amazing. if you look at the chart, the chart looks very weak. it did hold the support level at $62. it came out with earnings. it is actually up on earnings. the market is rolling over. it is still up today. so i think this is a hold for me right now in lululemon. i don't want to buy it, i want to see how their customer loyalty is. they have a very high p/e, high beta, high short interest- > > women's fashions are cyclical, and they are fickle. fickle! > > the pants are 100 bucks. it is hard to determine if customers are going to be deterred from this. > have you heard what the ceo said? don't knock the pants 'til you try them - put them on, bend over, and see how see through-they really are. ok, round is number 2: is it game over for e.a. sports? i want to ask you about this: the ceo has left. they formerly made that fantastically successful madden

nfl video game. no longer a big win for gamers. what about this sector? > > video games, i think, are dead and shot. i think too many people have smartphones. 2013 is going to be the first year they sell more smartphones than regular phones. i think more people are playing games on their smartphones, on their tablet, on their phablet, whatever you want to call it. video games are dead. the ceo left, the stock actually bounced in the after-hours session, then it got sold off hard. i am not getting in on this stock. > > i don't even know what a phablet is. i think the way to play this- > > it's between a phone and a tablet. > > there are diversified ways to play this. play gamestop. gamestop has a technical wedge for a $6 break-out. i think that is a better opportunity for the long-term with gamestop as opposed to the individual company that produces the games. > you are still standing, but let's go one more round, round number 3: let's talk about bird- brained. the burger king boys, they want to put a turkey burger on the menu. what about these three leading stocks, bkw, mcd, and wen, all trying to be fresh, different, new. who do you like here? > > burger king, absolutely. 52-week high. just had a downgrade, a great opportunity to get in. 52-week highs usually go higher. i think they have that mcdonald's doesn't have - mcdonald's is losing some of their margins. they have currency problems. bkw is the way to go. > > i am going to go to the source. i am going to buy corn. december corn is $1.50 lower than-

> > that is an option! it's not mcdonald's, wendy's, or burger king. > > -$1.50 lower than front- month corn right now. what do you think makes burgers, what do you think makes chicken? corn. corn is the king- > > he is talking about mcdonald's, wendy's, or burger king and you buy corn! > > if we have any weather problems, that is going to be a big deal for the market. > boys, boys, boys. > > burger king. > i am going to ask you the bonus round question: it comes from one of our viewers. this is rhonda from eden prairie, minnesota. she wonders, do you guys ever go out for a beer together? > > yeah, i buy, obviously. [alan laugh > all right, here is the question: when did the first woman become a member of the new york stock exchange? you have three dates here: a) 1967 b) 1953 c) 1959. > go. > > '53. alan was born. > > that is a good one. i will agree with the oldest year. it makes me look smarter. > 1967. you are smart. muriel siebert was her name. how many men were members that year? over 1,300. > > times have changed. > thank you so much. we will do it again next week. first business continues after this.

chart talk is the name of this segment, so let's talk with dan deming, he is with stutland equities. and dan, a little uncertainty-fueled fear to put

volatility back into the mix this week. > > yeah, some news items, bill, that have pushed the volatility expectations up. we saw a mark a couple days ago in the vix expiration of below 13, like 12.65. but now over the last day or so we have seen a pickup in vol. expectations, the vix closing around 14 yesterday. and i can tell you as far as the vix options, the activity we are seeing in the front-month options and even the second- month options, we are seeing some buying going on there as the expectations are now that the market maybe is in a vulnerable position as we kind of roll into the weekend with this thing in europe still not resolved. > are you playing it on the conservative side? > > we are right now. we are kind of looking for some defensive kind of cheap protection, basically buying some cheap put spreads, maybe financing by selling some high- side calls to kind of protect ourselves from the possibility of a pullback. we have been looking at this market over the last three years and studying it, and i tell you, if there is one cyclical thing that stands

out to you, look at that sell- in-may-and-go-away adage. it has paid off the last three years, and it could be the same way this year. > dan, real quick, i want to ask you about nike. its earnings numbers came out yesterday, and boy, it sure took off in after-hours trading. > > it sure did bill. it caught me a little bit my surprise, actually. i didn't expect the reaction, but we are seeing nike trading up around $58. now, breaking out of that range, the high from last year, $56.34, breaking above it, the high from last year, so now it looks like possibly, at least for the short-term, momentum appears to be to the upside. > dan deming, you have a good friday. > > thank you, you too, bill. that's it for us today. be sure to stop by tomorrow. we'll tell you about a first-time home buyer segment you probably didn't know existed: boomers. why more people from that generation are homeward bound. from all of us here, thank you for watching, and have a great friday.